ANKARA - Turkish State Minister Mehmet Simsek said Friday Turkey and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will join the eight and seventh reviews.
"Thus, the program will end at the beginning of May, as foreseen," he told a joint press conference with IMF Turkey Mission Chief Lorenzo Giorgianni at the Treasury Undersecretariat in Ankara.
Simsek said 3.3 billion USD of IMF loan has remained, and the Fund will probably grant it in two equal tranches.
"We will most probably get the first half after the seventh review and the rest at the end of the last review," he told.
Simsek said he will present a series of proposals to the cabinet regarding future Turkey-IMF relations.
"According to the decision of the cabinet, we will shape up our future relations with the Fund," he also told.
Simsek said Turkey will decide on five-point premium reduction to diminish the tax burden on employment till the end of 2008 and start implementing it in 2009 as much as possible.
On the other hand, Giorgianni said Turkish government is the one to decide on how Turkey-IMF relations will continue after the current economic program is over in May 2008.
Giorgianni said Turkey-IMF cooperation is a success story.
Turkey is in a position to decide on its own how it can steer its own economic program without any need for financial support, he also said.